Section 1: Progress Report
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Running Start Continues to Grow
In 2003-04, Running Start completed its 13th year as a successful and popular program for eligible high school juniors and seniors. Enrollment totaled 15,610 individual students (equal to 9,533 full-time students), an increase of about 6 percent over the previous year when 14,682 students (9,007 FTE) participated. The program continues to serve about 10 percent of the state’s juniors and seniors.
The Running Start program continues to enjoy positive public support. A 2002 statewide community perception analysis conducted by Market Research Services showed that 73 percent of adults support Running Start, up from 68 percent four years earlier.
Four-year universities in the state also have students participating in Running Start. In the 2003-04 school year, 53 students participated in Running Start at Central Washington University with an average GPA of 3.44. The 175 students who participated on campus at Eastern Washington University earned an average grade point of 3.25. At the end of the 2003-04 academic year, WSU had 26 running start high school students enrolled. They averaged a cumulative WSU GPA of 3.63 with an average of 16 total credit hours each. The Evergreen State College does not yet have any Running Start students.
